Chapter 40
New Beginnings
In the year 527 A.D., a nobleman’s second son and a princess slept warm in their beds. A reoccurring nightmare plagued them on the nights of the Blood-Moon, always the same burning white light. They felt the pressure of someone squeezing their hands and a slight burning throb in their chests.
The windows blew open and glass shattered in their rooms, but they did not wake from their slumber. White light consumed the room as the two fifteen-year-olds tossed and turned. A red burn mark appeared on their chests over their hearts.
The nobleman’s son gritted his teeth and gripped the sheets of his bed, bearing the pain as a true warrior would…silently.
The burn mark singed his shirt as it glowed brighter. The boy gasped for air as his lungs burned from the inside, filling with ash. When the light vanished from his room, the boy shot up in bed, sweat dripping from his forehead, and screamed, “Breanna!”
The princess could not hide her pain as the nobleman’s son could. She cried out with tears streaming down her face. She tore at her nightgown, pressing a hand against the burn mark. As the room grew hotter from the white light, the princess’ breathing stopped and she fell limp on the bed.
Suddenly, she rose from her bed and walked over the broken glass to the windowsill, leaving a trail of blood footprints. Her eyes flung open, revealing silver irises with flecks of green.
In a low raspy voice, the young princess repeated, “Two halves of the whole will reinstall as Regina to all. The death of one will burn into another.”
Her lungs once again filled with air and her eyes returned to her normal, brilliant hazel. The princess collapsed on the floor, stared out her open window at a full crimson moon and breathed one word, “Eoghan.”
The howl of wolves was the last sound she heard before she passed out.
Three men sat around a fire, laughing and joking until they heard the wolves’ lamenting howl in the forest behind them.
The eldest of the men, named Brian, smiled up at the Blood-Moon and said, “And so it begins...again.”
You can discover new stories about the characters you already know, and some you don’t,
by visiting the following links:
www.slmancuso.com
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Thank you so much for reading!
Much love,
-S. L. Mancuso
Coming Soon
The Phoinix
The Light of Albion
The Phoinix: Age of Demigods Page 77
